Hold Me

Chapter 7

Alexander woke up with a painful ringing in his head. He scrunched up his face, holding his head in his palm. The alpha wasn't someone who got drunk often. Even if he did, he only did it at his house.

Alexander really cared about what the public thought of him. He rarely got into anything that dirties the perfect image he had. But this time, the alpha couldn't control. Stress and frustration got the best of him.

The alpha gripped his raven hair tightly when last night's memories crashed on him like a wave of tsunami. Alexander groaned, angrily throwing a pillow in a random direction. He didn't mean to hurt the omega yesterday but seeing Jude on top of him made his intoxicated mind go haywire then.

Alexander looked at the bedside table, his throat felt dry like a desert. There was a glass of water and a pain killer tablet, neatly set on it. He frowned, taking the pills in his hand. He was sure he didn't put it there yesterday. He couldn't even stand still last night, there's no way he was able to get up and find a painkiller.

Who else?

Jude….?

The alpha paused for a minute before he sighed and tossed the pill in his mouth, downing it with the glass of water. It irritated him to think about the omega. His face, bubbly voice, innocent smile, and everything made Alexander's blood boil for some unknown reason.

If Jude wasn't his mate, he probably would have been happy.

Growing up being called perfect by everyone, Alexander put extra effort into keeping that title. He had a perfect life. Fame, power, money—he had everything. He was perfect.

But Jude wasn't.

Jude turned the alpha's perfect world upside down. No matter how sweet the boy was, Alexander couldn't help but hate him. He lost his faith in fated mates the moment he was paired with a male omega.

It just wasn't right.

Jude wasn't right for him.

*

*

Jude absentmindedly stared out the window. He didn't go to the garden today.

The omega was hurt. Mentally more than physically.

Every time he thinks about last night, his eyes brimmed with tears.

Jude couldn't help the clenching feeling in his heart.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a minute before opening them again. The boy still had hope in his heart but he didn't know why he was still holding on.

Alexander didn't care about him, that was obvious. He doesn't even talk to him like a normal person.

What's making him think that the alpha will change?

Was he so desperate to have someone as his?

Is that why he still loves the alpha?

The omega had no answer.

The sound of a chair moving made Jude look around. The alpha sat there, with a newspaper in his hands.

Alexander didn't even spare a glance towards the omega. He wasn't going to apologize even though he didn't mean to hurt Jude. The boy should have thought before touching him.

He read the news about his rival company's new business venture. He had heard about this before but didn't think they would already announce it to the public.

Jude fiddled on his spot for a minute, expecting the alpha to speak to him but Alexander stayed silent, keeping his full attention on the paper.

The boy smiled sadly. He felt stupid for expecting something that wasn't going to happen. The omega sighed disappointedly before walking towards the kitchen but the alpha didn't fail to notice a slight limp in his movements.

After a few minutes, Jude placed a plate of pancakes and sausages with a cup of coffee on the table. He didn't wait beside the alpha this time, instead, he went back to the room with his head lowered. He felt like he shouldn't disturb his mate anymore.

Alexander clenched his fist. For some reason, seeing the omega's expression made him irritated.

He knows he shouldn't care but there was a feeling inside him like something was suffocating his heart.

*

*

*

Jude spent the whole day in the bedroom. He called Nancy and Evan to ease his mind but nothing worked. The omega felt the loneliness unbearable. Of course, he could talk to Matthew and Cheryl but that wasn't enough.

This was a different kind of loneliness.

A knock on the door brought the omega back from his thoughts. He sighed, standing up from the couch.

Opening the door, Jude was greeted with a very worried Cheryl. "Hey, I didn't see you downstairs today… Are you okay?" She questioned, worriedly. "You didn't come down for lunch too so I brought it here," She motioned to the plate in her hand.

Jude mustered up a small smile. "I-I'm okay… you didn't have to bring it here… I'm not hungry… " He opened the door wider for her.

Cheryl frowned, "What happened? Are you sick? Do you want to go to the hospital? " She quickly put the plate on the table before striding back towards Jude.

"No no, I-I'm okay… it's nothing, I just didn't want to eat…" Jude stuttered out walking back to the couch.

Cheryl's frown deepened. "Did you hurt your leg? You're limping,"

The omega froze suddenly. "Umm…O-Oh it's nothing, " He fiddled with his fingers.

"Jude, are you okay? You're acting different… Is there something bothering you? " Cheryl waited for the boy to turn around but he didn't, he just stood there with his head hanging low. That's when the maid saw the red marks on his neck. "Oh god, Jude! What happened to your neck?! Who did that?!" She ran to the boy.

Cheryl froze when she saw the omega clenching his fists. "Jude……What's wrong? " She softly placed a hand on his shoulder, careful of not making him panic.

The girl was stunned when Jude looked up. Teary bright blue eyes stared at her honey ones. His look stunned the maid, she just stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, unable to process what's happening.

Jude leaned in and hugged her, crying his heart out. Cheryl gasped as she stumbled back a few steps from the force of the omega suddenly hugging her.

She slowly hugged him back and rubbed his back in an attempt to calm him down. "Hey…. I don't know what's going on but it'll be okay…. And if you need someone to listen, I'm always right here, okay? "

The boy pulled away from her wiping his tears. Cheryl saw the helplessness in his eyes as they met hers.

"Cheryl, m-my mate…… My mate doesn't l-love me… "

"What? "